I'm Angry With God For Letting Me Suffer; Is That Right?
Christians all over the world go through different kinds of suffering. Some are persecuted simply for being Christians. Some are ridiculed when they live out their faith. Some are rejected when they preach the Gospel to nonbelievers.
All Christians suffer, but is this enough reason for any man or woman who professes to know Christ and follow Him to be angry at God? Does going through suffering permit the Christian to get mad at God for the pain that he feels?
Friends, the answer is no.
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It's Not Right
Many of us blame God for the hardships we face. Some see their health deteriorate and blame it on God. Some see their businesses crash and fold, then blame it on God. Some who have rebellious kids blame God for giving them such a "headache." Whatever happens, as long as it is wrong, hurtful, offensive, unwanted, or unpleasant, these people blame the Lord.
When trials come, these people say "why me, Lord?" When they lose a loved one, they cry "why did You take [insert name here] away from me, God?" When they suffer from a breakup or a falling out in relationships, they utter with their mouths, "God doesn't love me anymore."
Tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure all of us have blamed God for something we don't like. We experienced getting angry at Him for allowing such bad and unpleasant things to happen. Some even abandoned the faith because of certain pain.
Still, the hurt and pain we go through isn't enough to make us feel entitled to hear God say "sorry." The anguish we carry inside doesn't permit us to lash at Him as if He was our slave. The sufferings we feel and wounds we sustain aren't enough reasons for us to be angry at God, curse Him, and abandon the faith.
No, they aren't.
Learning our place
Friends, even though God loves us and has sent His Son to purchase us, we must never forget that we are mere creations that God made. Even if our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, we are but fragile vessels made from clay. We cannot argue with our Maker, complaining to Him as if He were the creation and we were the creators. Isaiah 45:9 tells us,
"Woe to him who strives with his Maker, the potsherd with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to the potter, "What are you making?" Or the thing you are making say, "He has no hands"?"
God has the right to mold us as He pleases. If He decides to work on us this way, He will work on us this way. We as clay can only submit ourselves to the Potter's hands. Thankfully,
"Like a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord gives compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed; He remembers that we are dust." (Psalm 103:13-14)
Thankfully, God knows that we are dust. He remembers that we are fragile. He knows that we can only take so much. We can be certain that He will not allow us to go beyond what we are able to bear (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).
I pray we will humbly submit ourselves to Him. I pray that this will be the declaration of our hearts:
"But we all are as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags; and we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs up himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have consumed us because of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; and we all are the work of Your hand." (Isaiah 64:6-8)
